After wrapping up an interview with Hall of Fame goaltender Patrick Roy in Tuesday in Montreal, it didn’t take long for the word to leak out he had sat down with the Ottawa Senators when longtime radio reporter Rick Moffat tweeted “my most reliable spies tell me Patrick Roy and Pierre Dorion left the same hotel” in the afternoon.

As reported by first by Postmedia Saturday, the Senators met with the 53-year-old Roy to discuss the vacant post behind the club’s bench. It’s believed — unless there’s a change of heart by Dorion — Roy is the seventh and likely last candidate to be interviewed to replace Guy Boucher, who was fired by Ottawa on March 1.

Ideally, the Senators would like to have a coach in place by the end of the month which means decision day is likely just around the corner now.

Though Roy hasn’t coached in the NHL since he left the Colorado Avalanche in Aug., 2016, he returned for a second stint with the QMJHL’s Quebec Remparts last season. Nobody is sure if he’s the right fit for the Senators, but the fact Roy met with Dorion and assistant GM Peter MacTavish Tuesday is intriguing to say the least.

The Senators have already spoken with associate coach Marc Crawford, Belleville coach Troy Mann, Pittsburgh assistant Jacques Martin, Providence College coach Nate Leaman, Toronto assistant D.J. Smith and Dallas assistant Rick Bowness. All have the qualifications to do the job and now the decision rests in the hands of Dorion.

Some were excited about the possibility Roy, who on the Jack Adams as the NHL’s coach of the year in 2014 after amassing 112 points in his first season with the Avs, was going to get the chance to sit down with the Senators. Others believe he’s not the answer because his club’s in Colorado struggled defensively.

The fact the Senators spoke with Roy and gave him in an interview is an attention-getter. We’ll find out in the coming days if the discussions was enough to get the job, but those who know Roy say he’s a different man than the one who left Colorado in 2016 and this time around he simply wants to focus his efforts on coaching.

Speaking in an interview on TSN 1200 Tuesday morning, former Maple Leafs assistant GM Dave Poulin, a colour analyst on the network, said he thought it was “very, very interesting” when he saw the report Saturday the club would interview Roy.

Poulin also noted he liked the list of candidates.

“I really like what Pierre Dorion has done because he’s essentially interviewed the full gamut,” Poulin said. “The list is, and was very strong, but then we kept hearing there was a seventh name. I wasn’t expecting Patrick Roy to be the seventh name and I don’t think anyone was. I think that came as a real surprise.

“I think it’s of interest and it’s someone doing their due-diligence and looking outside the normal box of what has fit and what goes into (hiring at the NHL level). You have to look across the board and see what fits your team best. What fits a talented group of young players, most who haven’t made their mark in the NHL, yet?

“To look at someone (Roy) who has success in the major-junior level and has also coached in the NHL, I think it’s an interesting look. Looking back at the Colorado experience, there’s a lot of question there, if you’re Pierre Dorion, that you’re asking of Patrick Roy.”

Yes, and now the Senators need to determine who’s the right fit.

The Senators are heading into the second full year of this rebuild and it’s imperative they get the right person. Crawford had a 7-10-1 record when he took over for the final 18 games of the season and remains in the mix. Mann did a good job developing young players in Belleville, but his team missed the post-season.

Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan (right) listens to assistant coach Jacques Martin (left) during a game against the Winnipeg Jets in Winnipeg on Sun., Dec. 27, 2015.Kevin King /
Winnipeg Sun

Many believe the 66-year-old Martin is exactly what this team needs to get back on track defensively while Bowness, 63, has a wealth of experience from working with young players across the league. Leaman, 46, is highly-regarded for the work he did building the program at Providence College.

A name to watch may be the 41-year-old Smith. He won a Memorial Cup with the OHL’s Oshawa Generals in 2015 and has spent the last four years on coach Mike Babcock’s staff in Toronto. He has experience with young players and certainly can’t be ruled as this search winds down in the near future.

Roy was the latest candidate interviewed for the most and most likely the last.

We’ll likely find out sometime in the next 10 days or so who made a lasting impression with Dorion and the Senators.